30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

The Mother Lode

Guess what? I'm sick again. What the heck? I can't remember the last time I was sick twice in such a short period of time. Anyways... it's during times of illness when I have the deepest appreciation for everything my mother has done for me.She's one of the kindest people I know and always puts other peoples' needs in front of her own. When I was little, she'd make this concoction of chicken noodle soup and rice that instantly made me feel better. I made it this weekend, but I don't think it'll ever taste as good as I remember it from my childhood.Speaking of my childhood, I read a few posts on Mother's Cookiestrading cards last month and decided to track down some more for my collection. When it comes to 80'soddball issues, these cards rank right up there with Kellogg's as my favorites. While Kellogg's would receive points for design, Mother's Cookies evens the score with sentimentality.Back in the day, my brother would take me to Giants and A'sgames and we'd always try our best to attend the game when these sets were passed out.I already have a handful of Oakland A'ssets, along with one or twoSan Francisco Giants and Seattle Marinerssets. But I really wanted to add some San Diego Padressets to the collection and grab a few more A's sets as well.After searching I found an eBayauction offering up fifteen mid 80's Mother's Cookies sets:

At first, I though I might win this auction for under$10, but last second bids ended the auction at $20.50 (+ $7.99 shipping). That might seem a little pricey, but that's still under $2per set. I can live with that.Within the lot were the following sets: 1984 Houston Astros, 1985 Houston Astros, 1986 Houston Astros, 1984 Oakland A's, 1985 Oakland A's, 1986 Oakland A's, 1984 San Diego Padres, 1985 San Diego Padres, 1983 San Francisco Giants, 1984 San Francisco Giants, 1985 San Francisco Giants, 1986 San Francisco Giants, 1984 Seattle Mariners, 1985 Seattle Mariners, and 1986 Seattle Mariners.With this many sets out of the way, I'm actually thinking about putting together a master collection of 80's Mother's Cookiessets. The problem is finding the rest of them for $2per set shipped.I'm sure you could care less about that. You probably want to see the cards. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go Night Owl or Dime Box Nick on you and show off twenty to thirty cards. I picked my favorite five plus and threw in an honorary mention, so without further adieu...Honorary Mention: 1984 Mother's Cookies Astros #1

After Nolan Ryan threw his 7thno-hitter in the early 90's, Mother's Cookiesflooded the hobby with his cards. Here's a look at his first Mother's Cookies card.

#5: 1986 Mother's Cookies Athletics #9

Love him or hate him, Jose Canseco was once upon a time the king of the hobby. And this card was passed out the year his rookie cards were inserted into packs. I don't think I was there the day this set was passed out, because this card would have been a highly treasured item in my PC during the late80's. It's nice to finally pick one up thirty-two years later.

#4: 1984 Mother's Cookies Mariners #13

I'm a San Jose Statealumni, which isn't exactly known for producing Major League Baseballplayers. There are only two players who have a careerWAR higher than 3.0. Ken Caminiti is one of them. Mark Langston is the other. Like the Canseco... this is one of those unofficial rookie cards.

#3: 1984 Mother's Cookies Padres #9

One of my middle school PE teachers let us watch the 1984 World Series and most of the kids in my class were rooting for the Detroit Tigers. I was the kid who liked to go against the grain, so I rooted for the Padres. I don't think I officially became a San Diego Padres fan until the next season. But this card reminds me of where it all started. It also features my favorite player wearing my favorite Padres jersey.

#2: 1984 Mother's Cookies Athletics #2

When I was a kid, two of my favorite cards were the 1981 Fleer Rickey Hendersons where he's kneeling with a bat. This card reminds me of them. Great pose. Wristbands. Stirrups. Eye black. And the Oakland Coliseum in the background. This is a classic card.

#1: 1986 Mother's Cookies Giants #7

You're probably wondering how did a San Francisco Giant secure the #1 spot on an Oakland A'sfan's list. Well... sometimes nostalgia trumps favorite teams and favorite players. When I sold off the bulk of my collection back in the early 2000's, there was only one Mother's Cookies card that I kept and you're looking at it. Will Clark is kinda like Derek Jeter or Clayton Kershaw. I can't stand the teams they play(ed) for, but I admire the heck out of the way they play(ed).Well that's it for now. You know the routine...

Are there any notable cards in your collection that you kept from your childhood?

I look forward to reading your responses while I'm laying in bed sipping on Robitussin cough syrup.Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

17 comments:

Holy crap that's a great haul for $20. I just completed getting the complete set of these for the Giants from when I was a kid (1986-1998). I haven't gone earlier yet but I love how the 1984 sets use the team logotypes for the team name.

Get well my friend. I just picked up the last Giants Mother's Cookies card I need on beckett.com to get the complete Mother's/Keebler Giants run. The Will the Thrill card and the Rickey card are two of my favorites as well.

I recently went on a bit of a Mother's Cookies binge on COMC -- can't wait for them to arrive. They're almost impossible to find since few seemingly were able to make the trek to the Midwest. Many of my favorite cards hail from my childhood, with my '01 Upper Deck Ichiro rookie being the first that comes to mind.

Sorry you're feeling under the weather. I have most all of my baseball, football, Hockey and basketball cards from my youth in the late 60's early 70's. One example--I still have my three Dr J rookies. Those are cool.

B Man - I'm not sure why Mother's didn't make these for every team. Maybe they're more of a West coast company... although they did make them for the Astros and Rangers too. Hope you're feeling better.

Nick - I can only dream of actually pulling an Ichiro rookie. I guess I could pay big $$$ for an unopened box of cards from 2001, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Commishbob - Hope you're feeling better by now. Wow. If you're gonna keep only one, it might as well be a Gibson rookie card.

jacobmrley - Thanks. I'm hoping I stumble across a few more of these lots to help me fill in some holes.

Matthew Scott - That's awesome. I don't have a lot of regrets in life, but I gotta admit there are a few cards I wish I didn't sell back in the early 2000's.

Rod - Thanks for the offer... but I still owe you. Let me catch up first ;)

About Me

I've been collecting cardboard off and on since the early 80's. I'm presently collecting. But who knows what the future holds in store for me.
One thing is for certain... I'll have my blog to help relive some of my favorite hobby moments.